Creating attachments via blog-api (using Ecto) to a private upload directory

Hi,

I have set up the CVS version of Drupal, and was trying to determine which file setup would work best with Ecto.
It works fine with upload and public file. When the drupal system is switched to private, the files are also
uploaded OK (into the correct private directory), and the correct URL is returned in the XML
(eg http://localhost/drupal/system/files?file=img1.jpg), but the system cannot find the file.
After having a look at the blogapi.module and the upload.module, I presume it is not creating a row
in the files table.

I'm quite new to Drupal, so unsure where it is best to change this in the code, from a compatability point of view.

As an aside, I tried to get filemanager working with attachments, but have not suceeded. It always errors saying
the destination directory cannot be found. Is there a patch for these modules, or should I stick with upload?
What is the future direction for file management in Drupal at the moment?

Many thanks,

Brendan